'Modern Family' season 4 starts tonight: Are you still watching?

As Sunday’s Emmy Awards proved, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences members are still gaga for Modern Family. Six out of twelve Outstanding Supporting Actor/Actress nominees hailed from ABC’s flagship sitcom; cast members Eric Stonestreet and Julie Bowen won their respective categories, both for the second time. The show itself took home its third consecutive Outstanding Comedy statuette, as well as awards for writing and directing. Maybe Phil didn’t need to fix that step after all.

But for some viewers, this outpouring of Emmy love might seem misplaced. Modern Family‘s third season was funny, but it was also uneven — and too often, it featured characters hitting the same notes over and over. A show that once won praise for its innovation had started to feel just the tiniest bit stale. This is inevitable for any long-running show, especially a family comedy like ModFam — but still, it’s tough to say whether the series is simply settling into middle age or beginning a slow but steady decline.

Season 4 will bring a few developments sure to shake up the Dunphy/Pritchett/Delgado clan. First and foremost, Gloria is pregnant — which means Claire and Phil’s kids will soon have a half-aunt or -uncle who’s at least a decade younger than them. Eesh. Oldest Dunphy daughter Haley will be off at college, though she’ll still visit home every now and then. And Cam is apparently heading back to school — as a teacher. Hopefully, these story lines offset the feeling of stasis that crept in last season.

But as of right now — before we’ve seen the beginning of season 4 — are you still on board with Modern Family? Or are you ditching the show in favor of its shiny new competitors?